10/20/2015

Heavy Metal Review: Iron Maiden-Book of Souls

Iron
Maiden is one of heavy metal’s most legendary bands, who rose to fame and dominated
the charts during the 1980s. This is one of those cases where if you do not
know who they are, you must have been living under a rock for the past few
decades. Formed in London in 1975, the current incarnation of the band consists
of Bruce Dickinson (lead vocals, piano), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith
(guitar), Janick Gers (guitar), Steve Harris (bass, keyboards), and Nicko
McBrain (drums).

The Book of Souls is their sixteenth
studio album, and their first since 2010’s The
Final Frontier.This eleven song double
album clocks in at just over ninety minutes, and it is ninety minutes well
spent.While hitting on themes of
mortality, the soul, death, and sorrow, The
Book of Souls is one wild ride, leading to an unforgettable and incredible
finale.

“If
Eternity Should Fail” is an all-around fantastic opener. First, there is the
thrilling atmosphere in the beginning and, second, are the stellar vocals that
bring everything to the next level. The music and vocals fit so well together
that I would never want to separate them. There is also a great solo section a
bit after the halfway point for good measure. Overall, it is a grand and mythic
song musically, vocally, and lyrically. It is the perfect song to open the
album, because if you like it, then I would be astonished if you did not like
the rest. Living up to its name, “Speed of Light” is a hard-hitting rocker that
comes out soaring like a comet through the night sky. There is great energy in
the vocal performance, but the guitar work steals the show on this one.

“The
Great Unknown” opens with a killer base line and astounds with its otherworldly
sound. The vocals reach new heights that the previous songs did not, and the
guitar solo around the five minute mark absolutely tears things it up. A
towering beast of a song, “The Red and the Black” grabs you by the hair with
its delicious opening riff, and then continues to groove right along. It is a
fairly long, clocking in at just over thirteen and a half minutes, and though
it does an adequate job of not wearing out its welcome, I was waiting for it to
end by the eleven minute mark. Pulsating with energy, “When the River Runs
Deep” is a fast paced, head-banging tune. “The Book of Souls” starts off mellow
with an acoustic opening, before the whole band drops in to turn things up to
eleven. The song has a great flow, leading to the most memorable riff on the
album, making for a fantastic end to the first album.

Starting
off the second album in glorious fashion, “Death or Glory” is a high tempo
track packed with unrelenting energy. It is a ripping and roaring song that
absolutely soars, and has a great eighties throwback vibe to its sound with its
riffs and melodies, making for a rock solid metal tune. The jarring opening of “Shadows
of the Valley” has a slightly sinister feel to it and it could be the theme
song to a dark fantasy film. The music is nice and controlled metal during the instrumental.

“Tears
of a Clown” is an interesting song, because it is a bit of a heavy metal
lament. As you can tell by the title, the lyrics are sad and depressing. There
is a nice guitar solo to lift the spirts up, as much as it can on a song like
this. “The Man of Sorrows” is a haunting song with plenty of emotion. I am also
thinking that it possibly makes “Tears of a Clown” a tad redundant. “Empire of the
Clouds” is the closers of all closers, a truly epic and stunning song. There is
the beautiful piano opening, an album highlight for sure, that moves seamlessly
into metal territory with some nice harmonies and killer guitar parts.It is by far the album’s longest song, but it
never wears out its welcome.

It is
safe to say that Iron Maiden has knocked it out of the park with The Book of Souls, and it made it over
the fence with plenty of room to spare.Despite a few minor glitches, I have found that this album has grown on
me with each listen. This album is a must for Iron Maiden fans. The Book of Souls is a 21st
century metal masterpiece.

4.5/5 Stars

Key
Tracks: If Eternity Should Fail, The Great Unknown, Death or Glory, Empire of
Clouds

Tracks:

Disc One 1.If Eternity Should Fail2.Speed of Light3.The Great Unknown4.The Red and the Black5.When the River Runs Deep6.The Book of SoulsDisc 21.Death or Glory2.Shadows of the Valley3.Tears of a Clown4.The Man of Sorrows5.Empire of the Clouds